IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ris/adbewp/0103.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Could Imports be Beneficial for Economic Growth? Some Evidence from Republic of Korea

Author

Listed:
  • Kim, Sangho

    (Honam University)

  • Lim, Hyunjoon

    (University of Rochester)

  • Park, Donghyun

    (Asian Development Bank)

Abstract

The Republic of Korea is widely seen as a classical example of East Asia's export-driven economic growth. The focus in the literature on exports in the economy's growth has led to an almost complete neglect of the role of imports. This study investigates the relationship between exports, imports, and economic growth using quarterly data from 1980 to 2003. Results indicate that imports have a significant positive effect on productivity growth but exports do not. Furthermore, the evidence reveals that the productivity-enhancing impact of imports is due to competitive pressures arising from consumer good imports and technological transfers embodied in capital good imports from developed countries. Most of the study's results still hold using gross domestic product growth rather than productivity growth as the measure of economic growth. The evidence implies that under certain circumstances, import liberalization can make a positive and significant contribution to growth and development.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Sangho & Lim, Hyunjoon & Park, Donghyun, 2007. "Could Imports be Beneficial for Economic Growth? Some Evidence from Republic of Korea," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 103, Asian Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:adbewp:0103
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/28365/wp103.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marc-Andreas Muendler, 2004. "Trade, Technology, and Productivity: A Study of Brazilian Manufacturers, 1986-1998," CESifo Working Paper Series 1148, CESifo.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Salman Haider & Aadil Ahmad Ganaie & Bandi Kamaiah, 2019. "Total Factor Productivity and Openness in Indian Economy: 1970–2011," Foreign Trade Review, , vol. 54(1), pages 46-57, February.
    2. Marie-Ange Véganzonès-Varoudakis & Arup Mitra & Chandan Sharma, 2012. "Are Reforms Productive? Explaining Productivity and Efficiency in the Indian Manufacturing," Post-Print hal-03058727, HAL.
    3. Colantone, Italo & Crinò, Rosario, 2014. "New imported inputs, new domestic products," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 147-165.
    4. Olivier Cadot & Céline Carrère & Vanessa Strauss-Kahn, 2013. "Trade Diversification, Income, And Growth: What Do We Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 790-812, September.
    5. Nakane, Marcio I. & Weintraub, Daniela B., 2005. "Bank privatization and productivity: Evidence for Brazil," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(8-9), pages 2259-2289, August.
    6. Bhattacharya, Mita & Okafor, Luke Emeka & Pradeep, V., 2021. "International firm activities, R&D, and productivity: Evidence from Indian manufacturing firms," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 1-13.
    7. Gaaitzen J. Vries, 2014. "Productivity in a Distorted Market: The Case of Brazil's Retail Sector," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(3), pages 499-524, September.
    8. Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Amit Kumar Khandelwal & Nina Pavcnik & Petia Topalova, 2010. "Imported Intermediate Inputs and Domestic Product Growth: Evidence from India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(4), pages 1727-1767.
    9. Mohammad Mafizur Rahman & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2013. "Do Imports and Foreign Capital Inflows Lead Economic Growth? Cointegration and Causality Analysis in Pakistan," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 14(1), pages 59-81, March.
    10. C Sharma, 2016. "Does importing more inputs raise productivity and exports? Some evidence from Indian manufacturing," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 21(1), pages 1-23, March.
    11. Impullitti, Giammario & Akcigit, Ufuk & Ates, Sina T., 2018. "Innovation and Trade Policy in a Globalized World," CEPR Discussion Papers 15804, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Aldaba, Rafaelita M., 2010. "Does Trade Protection Improve Firm Productivity? Evidence from Philippine Micro Data," Discussion Papers DP 2010-32, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    13. Filho, Irineu de Carvalho & Chamon, Marcos, 2012. "The myth of post-reform income stagnation: Evidence from Brazil and Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 368-386.
    14. Ricardo Arguello, 2017. "Trade diversification in Colombia, 1991-2011," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, vol. 36(71), pages 345-378, July.
    15. Patricia Augier & Olivier Cadot & Marion Dovis, 2013. "Imports and TFP at the firm level: the role of absorptive capacity," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(3), pages 956-981, August.
    16. Jesse Perla & Christopher Tonetti & Michael E. Waugh, 2021. "Equilibrium Technology Diffusion, Trade, and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(1), pages 73-128, January.
    17. Jorge Alvarez & Felipe Benguria & Niklas Engbom & Christian Moser, 2018. "Firms and the Decline in Earnings Inequality in Brazil," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 149-189, January.
    18. Sriniketh Nagavarapu, 2008. "Brazilian Ethanol: A Gift or Threat to the Environment and Regional Development?," Discussion Papers 07-039, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
    19. Torfinn Harding & Jørn Rattsø, 2009. "Industrial labor productivities and tariffs in South Africa. Identification based on multilateral liberalization reform," Discussion Papers 585, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    20. Muhammad Shahbaz & Mohammad Mafizur Rahman, 2012. "The Dynamic of Financial Development, Imports, Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth: Cointegration and Causality Analysis in Pakistan," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 13(2), pages 201-219, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic growth; imports; productivity growth; Republic of Korea; trade;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ris:adbewp:0103. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Orlee Velarde (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eradbph.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.